it has been 83 days since he left. it really seems like forever ago. and we haven't even made it to triple digits yet. *sigh*  

we have had a few bumps in the road....getting used to the 'new' routine. that is not always easy when the routine we had...we liked. he is so much a part of everything. his absence is hard to ignore. we are all better when we stay busy. so that's what we do.

he is a true hero. when i see this photo, i can't help but to be proud of what he does for a living. what he sacrifices. his boys know they have a 'cool' daddy....but one day they will realize what that really means.

i heart technology. there is no other way to put it. he can share photos with us that he has taken and email them to us to see right away. he has taken video clips of him flying. he has sent us a video photo tour. we were able to see where he calls 'home.'  how did people do this without it? we can video chat. i can call him when he is in his room and I'm running the kids around town. he can text from his computer. we chat a lot. more then i thought we would.  it's the communication that makes the days pass. 

1 week down!!!
{ 7 entire days behind us }

the first few days were....well awful!  i couldn't even make dinner without crying. we ate dinner in front of the TV, which NEVER happens in this household. EVER. then skype came to the rescue. seeing him made all the diference in the world. the tears seemed to fade away, dinner was eaten at our kitchen table with the tv off...kinda back to "normal"

and my Colorado bestie came to the rescue. by form of kidnapping me. we were supposed to grab lunch and see a movie. the night before a text came and said..new plan, be ready at 9, i'm kidnapping you. what a perfect idea at a perfect time. we headed to denver and i was about to be foushee'd. kinda of an inside joke. we pulled up to the spa (which was called spa foushee) and she told me, you are about to get foushee'd. I wondered where my foushee was? and what they were going to do to my foushee?  we giggled. it's what we do best. She had planned for us to have a cloud 9 -by the beach-weightless pedicure.   Oh Em Ge!!     We sat in this perfect chair, covered with this perfect white feather down comforter, and it began. they tipped the chair back to perfect weightlessness and i was off to heaven. it was amazing and just what i needed. she knew that. Pam, i'm thankful i was foushee'd!! I will never forget it.

this week we  'as in my fellas and i'  had our first coming to jesus talk. hated to have this...but i figured we would probaly have to at some point. they know Grammy as a fun, we get to do whatever we want, get whatever we want, rules optional, vacation Grammy. i'm glad to get it out of the way the first week. she enjoys that vacation Grammy role too. but that is just not reality for the year. she knows that. they had spend some of their day, while i was at work, jumping over the couch, eating oranges at the coffee table, playing around in grammy's room, telling her 'no' a lot. they are lucky i didn't completely loose my sh*t. well, i kinda did. that's ok. it made an impact. i hope. We will see. crossing my fingers.


 i want to remember.....

that i am thankful for Skype, being foushee'd, coffee with friends (or chai tea), kiddos getting to skype, eating breakfast with daddy, no tears since wednesday, text messages that make me smile, so many huge hugs from my work buddies, and the trifecta of k9 getting along

that is all for now!!  more later.

It’s 2012

{a new year}

most people start their first BLOG of the new year with resolutions, maybe a reflection of the last year…I’m starting with neither. we started the New Year with a good bye. i thought i was prepared. we knew this day was coming. we talked about it. prepared the kids. i prepared myself. but not enough. it was pure torture saying good-bye to him. it was worse watching him say good-bye to our boys.
the countdown is torture in and of itself. it is like time is in slow motion, but speeds by at the same time. emotions run high. how can they not? having conversations about his wishes if ‘something were to happen to me’ is necessary, but too awful to imagine.
i’m not a writer. i prefer to tell my story and remember moments with photos. this way of documenting somehow seems necessary to me. to reflect. to keep record of my thoughts. a place for him to read about our day to day routine in more detail than i care to share on my favorite social network. for our family to look back and remember the good, bad and all the ‘in between’ moments.
















i am proud.

i am in love.

i am lucky.

i am thankful.

i am strong.

i am sad.

and

i am scared.

but, we will do this. my plan…stay busy…stay focused…and stay positive. i’m not a person who spends time worrying. i hoping that works in my favor. we are calling ourselves the D team. My mother-in-law, the fellas and I …..the deployment team. I hugged her the night he left and thanked her for being here with me to do this.

so, here we go. day #2 down….a lot more to go…our daddy jar of kisses will help us count down the days until mid-tour. the boys loved that they were able to eat their kiss from daddy after they brushed their teeth tonight. we will try to not make that a new habit. i haven’t found the perfect place to keep our jars of kisses. still looking for that spot. maybe i should take down Christmas and that would help me find that “perfect” place!!
~and to brent….home is just not home without you. I love you. and look forward to the next time i hear your voice. and davis much rather play plants vs. zombies with you. i suck.

Does this count as catch up???? A year in review video slide show???? I'm thinking, YES!!

This is us. Our Family. Our memories. The people we love. The things we love. All the memories that makes us US.

{{Where do I even Begin???}}

Right here....

....posting some pictures of the people who make a difficult time better!

~most of the time~

Davis....

MItchell....

I hung my life on a coat rack 9 months ago. After my sister's horrible motorcycle accident...Brent and I have been helping her and her family put their life back together. This post is the start...I went back to that coat rack...and picked my life back up.....

Question....why is it so hard

for me to find the time to update my BLOG??  

answer....I have no idea!!

But.....I will  make a better effort

I promise

My life is still full of brown boxes....

{But, we made it!!}

I am seated on a pop-up, $1, garage sale find, chair "thing" as I am typing this.  My computer is on the ground , my keyboard in my lap and the screen sitting on the shelf of my scrapbook table turned on it's side....but, we made it.  Arriving the night before I start work has been a bummer on my plan to ""get the house unpacked in 1 week.""  Thank goodness my Aunt is arriving this weekend to help.  Plan B= I hope eventually we get unpacked.  Plan C= we have a huge basement that has a perfect spot for a bunch of brown boxes. 

Road Trip-  The boys did wonderful. 3 straight 12 hour driving days...PERFECTION.  I wish our rented moving equipment did that good. 

Colorado- Wonderful.  I love it here.  Where has Colorado Springs been all my life.  I hope the Army forgets we're here. 

Altitude- Not so wonderful....but getting used to it.  Being 7,000 feet above sea level takes a little getting used to. 

Home improvements-  Should be unpacking.  Instead, Kitchen painted, dining room paint selected, deck...almost complete.  Still need sod, rocks, sand for playground in backyard. 

So here is my plan.  1) get up out off this seat "thing" and put my computer desk together and computer on it. 2) Go to bed so I can be on time for my last day of computer training tomorrow  3) unpack some boxes tomorrow  4) upload some pics of our road trip, house and such to my BLOG  this weekend. 

Bye

 

Hired!

Finally, I have a job.  I was getting nervous...really nervous about the hiring freeze that was happening in Colorado Springs.  I am happy to report that I will be getting a paycheck from here.

St. Frances, located 9.5 miles from our house.  That is really close compared to my drive here in Alabama.  I'm going to have to really work hard to get used to the view....

2 WHEELS

{And it was so easy}

Two words = BALANCE BIKE

I am a true believer in the balance bike.  I don't know why I didn't think of it.  If you are wondering what a balance bike is, Click here. 

This is Mitchell and his friend Blake on their balance bikes going a million miles an hour down our neighbors driveway.  That's safe, right?

Mitchell was the first to give his 2 wheel bike a try.  Brent held the back of his seat....and off he went.  It was that simple.   

 Davis waited a few days before he decided he was ready.  Same thing...we held the back of the seat and off he went.  That simple.

We bought bikes for the boys two Christmas' ago and they didn't ride them as much as I thought they would.  Davis and Mitchell are outside boys...they love the outside so much that I have used it as punishment.  Time out inside is pure torture for them.  Anyway, I got wind of this thing called a balance bike and knew that we had to get two.  I read that people had their 2 year olds riding two wheel bikes after they got them a balance bike.  I went bargain shopping and found someone on eBay that made knock-offs for about $25 each.  All I can say, is that I wish I had found out about these long ago.  I would recommend them to anyone.  Teaching a child the art of balance is the key to learning to ride a bike.  Training wheels are simply counterproductive and make learning to ride a bike harder.  Well, I can say for sure that the boys had an easy time learning to ride a bike.  They got on and rode it. 

HOME SWEET HOME

{our new Colorado pad}

We found the perfect house!  2500 sq.ft Ranch style house (that means 1 story on Colorado language) 4 bedroom + office, 2 bath, 3 car garage on 1/2 acre culd-de-sac lot with park across the street. BONUS...2500 square foot unfinished basement!  PERFECT....SOLD!

Here is a closer look.

someone else's furniture..but you get the idea

The best part....the basement....I have visions of perfectly organized storage that I don't have to climb up to the attack to get.  I have visions of little boys riding their bikes in the winter and painting.  I have visions of some construction...bonus family room, bedroom and bathroom for all of our friends and family.

 

Closing is scheduled for the end of April!  I will keep everyone posted.

We went to see the mouse

{Walt Disney World}

Should we call it spring break...or Brent had the week "off"...or neither?  NEITHER!

Brent was off the flight schedule because they thought he had started his Instrument Evaluator class.  His IE class thought he was finishing his last week of flying.  Sounds like spring vacation to me! Is that bad?  No, it's perfect....so we took off for a last minute trip to see Mickey. 

We had a blast!  A little trouble checking in to the resort since our military travel agent booked us for the month of April instead of March.  That was not so good showing up at the front desk to check in at 10pm, with 2 tired and hungry 4 year olds....and hear, "ma'am, your reservations are for next month and we are completely full."  I just laughed.  I had visions of us sleeping in our little gas efficient Honda Civic for the week.   We almost drove the Tahoe, but thought we would save a buck and drive the little car that was probably going to be our hotel for the week. But, in good Disney fashion they worked it out and handed us a key to our room. We put the car keys away and ran to the room before they could change their mind. 

Isn't it weird they sleep exactly alike?

Anyway.

 

 

we had a blast at the Magic Kingdom.  Seeing Disney through the eyes of your children is the best view.  My Mom always told me that...she was right.  I found myself in tears the first 30 minutes as I watched my boys take it all in.  If I could capture that feeling in a bottle, I would. It was pure magic.

Is it bad that I didn't tell them there is a huge drop on Splash Mountain?  This picture was taken just before going over that big drop.  I have never laughed so hard in my life.  PRICELESS.  We rode this ride several more times that day....They loved it!

We did some souvenir shopping at the end of the night and this is what the boys picked out. Davis picked a hat from one of the characters in the Toy Story.  Mitchell picked pirate goofy ears.  They wear these ALL the time...EVERYWHERE we go...all over town...EVERYDAY!

I love that!

 

Sea World was next.  This park honors those who serve in the Military...free admission to soldiers and their families!  PERFECT....we'll take 4 tickets, please.  We all had a blast!

Picture speaks for itself!  They sat in the soak zone...and loved it.  That smile is etched in my mind forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was not ready for it to be over....

 

They were able to find something else....another soak zone....

We also visited Disney Hollywood studios... 

and we were a roller coaster ridin' family.  The boys rode this ride....The Tower of Terror.  How awesome is that? 

Our last day was our favorite!  Brent and I loved the wild Animal Kingdom.  It was by far the highlight of our trip.  Disney out did themselves with this park...it was amazing.  I spent the entire day like this.....

camera in my face, taking pictures.  The safari ride was so fun, the boys loved it.  The Lion King show brought back so many memories of my days working at Disney.  I am so glad that we ended our first "real" family vacation here. 

We are still in Alabama and guess what??

{ It's snowing }

 

This was a shocker...I didn't think I would ever see this in Alabama.  What a treat.  How unexpected!  We all had a great time in the snow...while it lasted.  It never did stick on the ground...but I'm not complaining.  I was happy for what we got.  I love the snow....I really do.